MANILA, Philippines – The name on the back of Allein Maliksi's jersey caught the attention of Filipino fans in the 2017 SEABA Men's Championship when they noticed a slight change: his last name was spelled Malicsi, instead of Maliksi.
The 29-year-old Star Hotshots swingman explained how this was a result of a typographical error on his birth certificate, which led to his passport now bearing the "Malicsi" spelling.
"Kasi 'yung dati kong birth certificate letter C 'yung Maliksi, sa passport na inapply ko letter C. Tapos 'yun na 'yung finollow muna nila kasi 'yun yata rule sa (FIBA)," he shared.
(In my birth certificate Maliksi was spelled with a C, so in my passport it was also a letter C. So that spelling was followed because of the FIBA rule.)
FIBA, basketball's world federation, follows the names on players' passports when it comes to jerseys.
A similar confusion arose in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship also held in Manila, when guard Jayson Castro played in a jersey with "William" on the back.
Castro's legal documents still contain the last name of his American father despite him already adapting his mother's last name after his parents divorced. He still uses William for international competitions at present.
Only the spelling has changed for one of Star's go-to scorers in this tournament, having averaged 17 points 4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds so far in two games. – Rappler.com